McLaren

I disagree. Alonso may be a primadonna, but he gets more out of that car than anyone. Fact is, ferrari was outclassed by red bull the last 5 years. Next year will tell.

 

Totally agree with you,

I'm sure ferrari will ve back on top.
Hope for button he can stay at macca he did a great job in interlagos today

 

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

Just because one event precedes another does not prove that it caused it.

Ferrari has had many similar periods before he arrived.
There have been too many documented issues with the cars and with team management in the Alonso era for me to blame the one part of the team that has outperformed the rest.

Its easy to personify problems and find bogeymen but the issues are usually systemic.

 

I am not clouding my view of Ferrari's current situation with circumstances of their past. My observation is based on the current dynamic. Blame is to be had by many, though all responsible parties are gone - save Alonso. **** rolls downhill, and it has finally hit the floor and fallen onto Alonso's FIA homologated racing shoes.

 

Is there any logic in that very aromatic statement?

 

His job is to drive and he does it well.

 

His job is also to help guide the in-season development of the car and one hasn't seen a lot of evidence that he's been very good at that. He gets the best out of his car on a weekend receive to his teammate, but I'm not sure he's helping to make the Ferrari any better for the next weekend relative to rival cars.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

We know what we see on track.
What happens behind the factory walls is speculation.

He does his job. If everyone else on the team did theirs as well as he does his we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

+1. We have no idea what goes on behind closed doors. He could have an inept design team.

 

+1, with rhe exception that i believe there are better drivers out there than Alonso

 

Yup. I was in Montreal for the 2011 Canadian G.P. and what a sensational drive that was.

 

McLaren-Honda interim F1 car to run at Silverstone on Friday - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

The new Honda motor will be running soon! A development car just to test installation. That is serious! Happy to see this!

 

Does anyone actually not believe it's already banging out laps in some remote part of japan in a non descript open wheeler?

 

Big + 1. I'm sure it has done substantial testing already and they are correlating the data to the data Mcl has on the mb pu.

 

It has been set up in groups of 10 powering the bullet trains leaving Tokyo Im sure this unit has been running around the area alot in different platforms. Im sure Honda would like the motor to have good performance from the start. Glad they can run it on a track tomorrow!

 

Great post I felt this way the moment Alonso signed.

 

Begging to be asked: The unanswered questions for Honda's return to F1 in 2015 | Features & Experts | Sky Sports Formula 1

 

Very interesting interview with Ron. Who would have thought he was going to say Mika Hakkinen was the best Mclaren driver ever, his argument makes sense though. As for his comments about the Honda engine specifically that it has exceeded expectations along with inferences that it is better than the Mercedes unit, that is an awfully tall claim and at the same time a slap in the face to Ferrari and Renault who haven't been able to come close to the MB unit, we will have to see Ron but I have my doubts they have it figured out before they've ever turned a wheel with that unit.

 

On the contrary, Honda has had no limits on testing either. They can put that engine into any older chassis and have at it with nobody watching. I wouldn't be surprised if the engine is fantastic. McLaren just has to make a chassis to work with it.

 

Honda clearly are not Renault and tossing a unit together in 6 months.

 

Starting one year late turns to be an advantage for Honda. It has been untouched by the testing ban and the engine freeze. It had also time to evaluate its engine in progress compare to the others.
I am extremely optimistic that McLaren-Honda will do well next year, and wining races may not be out of the question either.

 

I'd say that its quite likely.

 

Does anyone know if they copied Mercedes special turbo configuration?

 

I don't think that they've released any information yet.

 

As far as I can see no reports on what it did today. Anyone seen anything?

Given it was a 'filming day', it's seriously restricted in what they can do, but a pretty good 'systems test'. Just make sure everything 'talks' to everything else as it should.

Devils advocate; I'd be surprised if it's run in any kind of car as yet. My guess is they've got the throttle (etc) data from every circuit they run at and can simulate anything they want on the dyno. What's the point in putting it some random test mule? Just adds more variables to the equation that aren't buying them anything IMO.

Someone is *always* watching..... They don't need to test yet, they need to get it going on the dyno and compare it with the data no doubt supplied by Mclaren.

As for the freeze, they, like the others, have to submit a unit for homologation by, IIRC, the end of February. The existing guys are free to change the vast majority of their units ahead of this date too. So no great advantage there - They remain a year behind the others track experience. And no test mule running in the boonies can duplicate that.

I wish them well, but taking into account Mclarens recent performance, I'd be amazed if they get any wins next season.

Cheers,
Ian